BLACKJACK
by writer4everr
Summary: One day, high-school student Sakura Haruno is thrust into a strange world, where she learns she's the exact double of the deceased princess. In order to save a kingdom she hardly knows, she impersonates the princess and enters an engagement with the prickly, albeit handsome Sasuke Uchiha, who has the sneaking suspicion his fiancee isn't exactly who she says she is...


_Chapter 1_

One minute, I'd been on the streets of Tokyo, with a bag full of medicine for my Gramps, walking home, and the next, I was standing smack dab in the middle of a grassy field. Also, there was a horse nearby and it was whinnying in my ear. Suffice it to say, it had been one of the stranger things to happen to me since I moved to the city.

I lived with my Gramps and older sister, Sayuri, in the country side for as long as I could remember. We weren't exactly poor, but I learned quickly as a child not to take things for granted. That all changed when my over-achieving sister got a shiny new job as a corporate manger over in Tokyo and me and Gramps tagged along.

I felt uncomfortable at my new school. Despite how friendly my new classmates were, I didn't exactly click with them and I constantly felt out of place. But, we had a better life in Tokyo and so I sucked it up and went on in life, helping Gramps out, including getting his medicine.

Gramps had insisted that he could go himself. He wasn't a stereotypical grandpa that was bent over with a cane hardly able to get out of bed. In fact, save for a few health problems, he was healthy, kept active, and always wore a bright smile. But, I'd needlessly worried anyways, and gone to get the medicine myself.

I guess I should have listened because the minute I'd stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street, a bright light had blinded me and the next moment, I opened my eyes and the skyscrapers were replaced by a bright blue sky and lush trees.

"Oh shit." I uttered. That was it. I'd died. The bright headlights had been some car and I had been run over. For Christ's sake, I hadn't even been able to outlive my gramps.

That theory though, quickly died as a breathy sigh came from the side and distinctly feminine voice whispered, excitedly. "She's alive."

I nearly twisted my neck, as my head whipped to look at the owner of the voice. I was almost thrown off balance, as I miscalculated how close she was. A bright blue eye stared at me. The other eye was shrouded by silky hair the color of moonlight. The woman looked ethereal, and I drew back, uncomfortable at the lack of distance between our faces.

"Ino," a disapproving voice came. This voice was masculine now, but it was soft in tone. The man came into my view, as he, thankfully, pulled, the woman backwards. This man was a sickly white and his neat, jet black hair only further emphasized his pallor.

The woman, Ino, he had called her, only pulled forward again. Her features glowed with excitement. "She's a living, breathing! It worked!"

I frowned. _What worked?_ But my attention was diverted as I noticed the duo's strange clothing. They wore kimonos. And old-style kimonos at that, ones I had seen in those films Gramps used to watch on TV. The horse that had first whinnied in my ear was roped to a carriage that looked right out of a movie set.

_Where was I?_

The black haired man also took his turn to give me a scrutinizing look. "She seems to have full motor capabilities. It seems our plan could work after all." His gaze eased into a self-assured smile.

The woman let out a sigh of awe as she gazed over me. "It's perfect, Sai…She's an exact double." The woman reached out to touch me, but I quickly recoiled, slapping her hand away with a terse expression.

"What the hell is going on?" I was shaking. "I'm the exact double of whom?"

Sai, smiled cheerfully. "Of Sakura-hime!"

I gaped. This was definitely a joke. "Are you two psychotic?" I gritted out.

"Almost exact double," Ino interjected, wryly, "Her temperament is quite far off."

Sai snorted in derision. "My abilities aren't that advanced. It's no matter; temperament can be trained, as long as she physically resembles the princess, we'll be fine."

I blinked twice trying to unsee these two strangely dressed people. They weren't fading off into whatever oblivion I was hoping they'd go to. I had to be dreaming, or maybe this was a prank. But who'd want to prank me and invest this much effort into it? The clothes they were wearing were rich in color and detail, the horse carriage looked like the real thing.

A dream, this was all a dream. I just had to play it out.

"You're not dreaming," A flat voice, informed me. I looked up, startled at the invasion in my thoughts. The blonde looked at me with a slight smirk. "This is all quite real, I assure you."

I scowled. My anger was winning out over my fear. "Look, lady-

"Ino" she prompted me with a bob of her head.

"Whatever," I shook my head, "I need to get back to my family. This world that we happen to be now is not my home. I want to get home, so sorry to disappoint whatever plans you two had, I'm not partaking in it!" I straightened my back and turned away. This was weird, more than weird, but I'd find a way out. I always did.

"If you aid us, you'd be saving hundreds of thousands of lives. And if you continue walking away, those same lives will be put in danger. Many will die."

I hesitated, but continued on, "That's great," I called back over my shoulder. "I love when figments of my imagination give my life or death ultimatums."

Although I moved further away, Ino's voice was just as piercing. "If it's just a dream, what's the harm in helping us?"

I stopped and turned on my heel to see smiling, smug faces. "Nice try," I shot back. "I'm trying to get home, not to get caught up with you two."

Sai flashed a white grin at me, "And how are you going to get home?"

My face puckered into a scowl.

"That's what I thought. Listen here, if you help the two of us, I'll get you back home safely."

_God, this was getting out of hand_. I sighed, "You can get me home?" My eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Out of his sleeve, he produced an ink brush. What good would that do? "I got you here. I can certainly get you back."

I briefly considered running away. I'd just met these two. They could be killers or psychopaths for all I knew. But, it was either go with them with their promise of bringing me home. Or, it was wander around a wasteland aimlessly. The latter didn't seem promising and damn it; I seriously doubted the whole dream theory more and more.

Ino smiled as I began to shuffle back over. "Good, smart choice."

"I'm just going to hear you out." I replied gruffly. "I'll decide once I hear what you need from me."

Sai twiddled with his paintbrush. "Fair enough,"

I plopped down on the grass, exhausted, and the two joined me on the ground. They sat down far more gracefully, however. "Okay, spill. Where am I? What the hell did you do to get me here? And what the hell am I supposed to do for you psychos?"

"Like I said earlier, you're the double of Sakura-hime-"

"_My_ name is Sakura." I informed them flatly.

Ino's eyes brightened, "Oh? I suppose it's not uncommon, really. Once the baby is born with pink tufts of hair, the mother is almost obligated to name her child Sakura-"

Sai cut in, "I'll make this simple for you. Whatever land you come from, it's vastly different here. Currently you're in a land with four kingdoms. There's the North, the South, the Capitol, and the Redlands, where we are currently." He looked at me, and I nodded, indicating my attention.

He produced from his sleeve a yellowed, black and white photograph. It was wrinkled and worn but the image was clear: a father and a mother beaming at their daughter. I inhaled sharply, as I registered the daughter's face. "That's-"

"Sakura-hime, your double," Ino filled in. My chest tightened. The likeness was uncanny. It was frightening, almost. She had the same button nose and even the large forehead that was slightly masked by the thick plaits of hair.

"The Haruno family has ruled the Redlands for many generations," Sai paused, looking up at me. "But, they were assassinated."

An image of my body covered in blood flashed through my head and I felt nauseous. "Assassinated?"

"Yes" Ino answered with a clipped tone. "They were killed by a group of insurgents. The family was killed, along with some servants and their personal guard."

"So what do you need me for? I can't bring them back," I protested.

"No, you can't" Sai agreed, "But you can pose as the dead daughter, the late Sakura-hime." His finger pointed at the photography, and I reluctantly looked it, still disturbed by the resemblance.

I let out a sharp laugh. "You're kidding right? What good will that doo? My double was assassinated and you want me to take her place?" I gestured wildly, at a loss for words. "I-I mean, that's just suicide!"

"We will protect you." Sai answered simply. He looked very solemn. "In this world there are a select few with…_abilities_. Ino and I are one of those people, we can protect you."

I got to my feet, my shaking had gotten worse. "I-this is too weird. First of all you're saying my double is some princess, and now you're telling me you have superpowers." My hands balled into tight fists, and my fingernails pressed tight against the skin of my palm. _Wake up, Sakura!_

Ino reached for me, steadying my body. Her touch was oddly comforting and I felt some aggression melt out of me. "Sai, show her."

_Show me what?_ My answer was quickly answered as he produced a piece of parchment and with the paintbrush he had been twiddling around with, he quickly drew a rose flower, complete with a long stem and sharp thorns. His hand moved over the painting, and the flower _fell_ off the parchment and into his hand! Except now, it was vibrant with color, the petals were blood red and the stem was a smooth, forest green.

He handed it to me and I reached out with a trembling hand. I rolled a petal in between two fingers and nearly pricked myself on a thorn. It was real. I let out a breath, "This…this is your ability?"

Ino patted me reassuringly, "He can animate paintings. It's how we summoned you here. He drew Sakura-hime and-"

"-And just like that?"

"I was surprised too," He admitted. "I never dreamed it would work so well. I thought at best it would give us a lifeless copy of the princess. But you aren't a shell. You're a real person." _That looks like a dead princess from a freaky supernatural world. _I added silently.

I sucked in another breath, "What do you need me for?"

Ino's warm voice came, "The Redlands is the poorest part of the country. Its conditions are unfavorable and much suffering has happened to the citizens. The princess was supposed to marry into an alliance that would benefit the Redlands tremendously. It would have given the kingdom the support it needed to get back on its feet."

I swallowed hard. I knew where this was heading.

"Unfortunately, a week ago, the royal family was killed." Ino's blue eyes hardened and her lips tightened. "Sai and I found their bodies. We knew, once we saw their bodies we had to act quickly." She paused, "So we told the Capitol only the princess survived the massacre."

Sai nodded, "We thought of a plan to find an impersonator. And it worked." He glanced at me with his big, black eyes.

My stomach curled, "You want me to follow through on the marriage alliance." I whispered.

"They would never know." Ino promised, quickly. "Sakura-hime's betrothed only met her a few times. He does not know here well enough to be suspicious; Sakura-hime in general was very closed off from people. They wouldn't suspect a thing."

"Once you marry into the alliance," Sai continued, "We can stage your death and send you back home. Through the alliance, your husband and his family would be obligated to continue supporting the Redlands."

"All I have to do," I started, slowly, "Is marry one man and then I'll be done? You'll send me home?"

They nodded in unison, "A promise is a promise."

I sighed. _This is a dream_. I tried to convince myself. But I knew, it really wasn't. I was somehow the double of a girl in another time. I'd seen a man turn a painting into a rose. I pinched myself one last time and blinked hard. The scene was still the same. I wasn't sleeping, this was real, and this was my only way back.

"I'll do it."

They broke out into identical grins. Ino grabbed my hand, leading me to the carriage. "Thank you, Sakura-hime-"

I cringed, "You don't have to call me that."

"We do." Ino answered. "You'll have to get used to it. You need to become Sakura-hime. You need to be prepared when we arrive at the Capitol."

My body stopped. "Wait, we're leaving, for the Capitol?" Ino just nodded. "Like now? Don't I need to prepare to become her?"

Sai jumped into the front of the carriage, holding the reigns carelessly. "Ino will prepare you in the carriage. You have a few hours." He replied easily.

Ino nearly shoved me into the carriage and she clambered in right after me.

"Sakura-hime, your parents are dead. You kept to yourself. People know your face; they don't know your inner workings. It'll be fine, so long as you just listen to me carefully for the next few hours." She clasped my hand in between her warm ones. "Trust me on this; it'll be over just like that.

I nodded, but somehow, I didn't think it would all that easy.

"Tell me one thing, Ino."

She glanced up at me, "What is it?"

"The guy I'm supposed to marry…what's his name?"

"Oh," her shining blue eyes narrowed mischievously. "Uchiha Sasuke, trust me you'll like him. Well, you'll like looking _a_t him." She chuckled, staring out the window with a knowing smirk.

From outside, I could hear the snap of the reigns and with a lurch of the carriage, we were off towards the Capitol.

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A/N: So I haven't written in a long time. I know I have 30 days which I've left for a bit but I'm really trying to commit to this fic, I'm already in the process of planning out chapter 2. I'm hoping to bring the same level of originality as Bride of the Water God :) So please leave me a review saying if you enjoyed it, if there are things that can be improved because I absolutely LOVE hearing from readers!

Much love, writer4everr


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